


twinkling lights

by feychella



Category: Not Another D&D Podcast (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, Wedding Fluff, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25035460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feychella/pseuds/feychella
Summary: Bev and Erlin get married under the twinkling lights of Galaderon, surrounded by family and friends.
Relationships: Erlin Kindleaf/Beverly Toegold V
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	twinkling lights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yxurstruly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yxurstruly/gifts).



> I'm just really in love with their relationship. Written to the song "Notos" by The Oh Hellos.
> 
> (MJ, is this the next best thing after Glimbow?) Spoilers through episode 100.

Everything was a little more real when Erlin was around. The world seemed more vivid, more promising, after Erlin talked to him, or smiled at him, or did...anything. The grass was springier, the air crisper, and, _yes_ , the stars seemed to shine a little brighter. He made Bev feel like a little Green Teen again, young and innocent. Bev hadn't felt that way in a long time. _Damn, I love him._ Beverly couldn’t believe he was marrying the most handsome man in the whole world. 

His mother fusses around his suit, helping the tailors and Moonshine prepare him. Bev stares at himself in the mirror. _I look kind of good,_ Bev thinks to himself, turning to the side to admire the workings on the side of the white suit. It was an old tradition in Galaderon to wear a fresh white suit to your wedding. Brides wore dresses of light green, typically, and walk barefoot down the aisle. Bev had already decided he would be walked down the aisle towards Erlin - given away by Hardwon, Moonshine, and his mother. His heart pounds in his chest as his mother pats his hair down. He fluffs it back up and Mama Toegold laughs.

“Perfect.” She smiles at him and they share a quick hug as Hardwon bursts into the room, wearing a crisp black suit. 

“Bev...hey! You look _amazing_ …” Hardwon gets a little choked up as Bev looks at him hopefully. Truth is, Hardwon was kind of a dad figure to him. “Man, Erlin’s one lucky guy, Bev. You’re perfect together, kid, I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Hardwon.” Beverly feels his throat close up as he clings tight to his tall friend. Moonshine joins in too, Paw Paw scrambling up in between all of them. Bev shakes off the possum fur and brushes himself off, smiling at his mother. Taking her arm, he pushes open the wooden doors of their house and they start towards the Galaderon Glades. The evening light shines through the forest as they walk towards the glades on the edge of town. Halflings talk, drink, and eat together, chatter rising up around Bev as he walks through them. Rows of white and mint chairs stretch out across the glade, to seat every guest in Galaderon and beyond. Mavrus flashes a smile at Hardwon, who waves heartily, pounding a beer and rushing back to Beverly’s side. His heart is beating so fast, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to stand up straight. 

And then Erlin is there, _right there,_ at the end of the aisle. All Beverly has to do is walk towards him and his new life can start. He can see tears in Erlin’s eyes and he tears his gaze away to stare at his suit, light green with white embroidery, and suddenly he’s crying too. Moonshine’s hand is on his back, Hardwon’s on his shoulder. Mama Toegold holds his hand and they stand there united. The guests file into their seats, murmuring and still drinking as Moonshine leans down to whisper in Bev’s ear. Egwene winks at him from where she stands, off to the side, with flowers in a basket. Tonathan also holds a little flower basket and the two of them start down the aisle slowly. Blood pounds in Bev’s head, heartbeat filling his own ears. He’s nervous, too nervous, was everyone this nervous?

“Bev, we’re so proud of you. You got this.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

Moonshine’s maternal smile instills a certain comfort in him. _I’ve got this._ With every step, a memory resurfaces. Erlin’s watery smile fades as he walks down the aisle. 

\-------

His mind races back to Moonstone, the first time he’d seen Erlin fight. Actually fight, not on the practice battlegrounds, in _real life._ Hardwon lay unconscious on the ground as Erlin managed to dodge a few attacks and finally heal him. Bev had missed a swing at the Bullywug King because he was staring so hard. He actually believed they could be a team together. His thoughts jumped straight to him, a knight, and Erlin, by his side as a healer. They would be unstoppable.

And then, when he came home to Galaderon and saw his house. The house still stood strong against the Chosen soldiers’ attacks. Egwene slashed away at them, Bev remembered, and Moonshine had helped him defend his home and his mother. He walked out to their little garden in the front and saw Erlin sitting there, bloody and broken, using his power to keep the Chosen at bay. He looked...exhausted. Bev had healed him and Erlin had leaned in, for the first time, and kissed him. 

Erlin tasted like chocolate and oranges. _Prestidigitation?_ Beverly decided that chocolate and oranges were his favorite flavor as he kissed him back. Heart warm, he had rushed back into the house and helped Moonshine with the ritual. They needed a final push to the Feywild, so Erlin ran out to the center of the circle, where Bev stood and kissed him again in front of everyone. Bev’s heart raced - _in front of everyone? -_ but he kissed him back. He’d always have Erlin’s back. Always.

The Fey Wild, strange and beautiful. A particular Eladrin had caught sight of Beverly. _Terran was his name_ , he thinks. They had snuck out to see owlbears and Bev had told him that he had a boyfriend. Terran’s face was heartbroken but Bev kissed him anyways, regret already rooting in his chest. Terran tasted fruity but it wasn't right. None of it was right. When he _Misty Stepped_ away, he nearly burst into tears. It didn’t feel right, kissing someone that wasn’t Erlin. How could it? Erlin was so good. He was better than Beverly, in a million ways. And Bev knew it. Ezra shows him a vision of Erlin holding his picture close to his chest, the memory flashes away, and he’s back in Galaderon surrounded by his friends.

His heart breaks a little as he takes another step down the aisle, almost at Erlin’s side. He remembers begging Erlin to cast _Zone of Truth_ on him, confessing to kissing Terran. Bev had expected him to be mad at him, but Erlin’s eyes held some sort of deep grief, too nuanced for Bev to understand and yet...he wanted to try, for Erlin. It was the least he could do, after, after - 

The journal was in his bedside table, in the new home that he and Erlin had bought. They documented their adventures together, spending hours in the swamp of the Crick and forests in Galaderon. Bev had visited the Watchman’s Tower to remember all the details, this time with Erlin beside him. There was still an indent, grown over with grass, from where he'd fallen. He smiles, thinking of the trip, and another vision encompasses him.

Erlin, dead in Pelor’s Plane, pleading with Beverly. They were both stronger now, Erlin as a powerful cleric, Bev as a Grey Knight. They had been separated for so long, but they fell into an easy stride like they had known each other for years. They had known each other for years, after all. Bev remembers calling upon Pelor’s power - the power that would kill the god - to save Erlin. He killed a god to save his boyfriend. Yeah, that sounded right. He would do it again if it was the only way Erlin would stay with him. Pelor wasn’t mad at him, he was sure. 

Moonshine. Hardwon. Beverly. They were all unconscious, totally at the mercy of Thiala. When he’d woken up, he saw Erlin, shaking from exhaustion, standing in the center of that platform. Between his friends and Thiala. _I’m the healer,_ Erlin had said to him, eyes determined. Beverly had stared at him, mouth open, as he wound up healing to protect them all from Thiala’s attacks. He hadn’t thought that he and his boyfriend would ever fight a god together, much less a crazy one. They’d both almost died ten times over, and yet they were still together. Erlin was still fighting for him. And he was still fighting for Erlin.

\-------

It takes him too long to step up next to Erlin, whose eyes are finally dry. Taking his hand, he glances at the priest, an old friend from Upper Galaderon. The priest’s words fade away as he looks at Erlin and his world sharpens. Now it’s only the two of them. He’s focused on Erlin’s dulled ginger hair, still lustrous, those bright eyes that hold promise of the future. The future. That’s what he wanted, what he never thought he would get to have. Moonshine pats his back one last time as his friends walk and sit in their assigned chairs, excitement palpable. 

Before he knows it, Erlin has a hand on the back of his neck and he’s pulling him closer. _That’s my husband._ Bev puts both hands on Erlin’s face, forcing him to dip him and kiss him deeper. He tastes like their first kiss, full of yearning and hope, fresh and lovely. That was Erlin. The crowd cheers and whistles noisily. Mavrus and Tonathan set off little fireworks around the altar and Bev beams, waving at everyone as he carries Erlin behind the altar towards the glades. 

Little candles sit in baskets. Erlin grabs for two of them as Bev passes them, carrying him into the center of the glade and setting him down. Their family and friends stand on the gentle hills above them. The grass is springy, filled with the smell of fresh fruit and spring water. He sits with his husband, and they use a quick cantrip to light their candle even though Mama Toegold had given them a lighter. Giggling, Beverly holds Erlin’s hand as they float the candles up into the grey evening. He rests his head on Erlin’s shoulder and feels Erlin’s arm go around his shoulders. _Safe._

Egwene, Nana Kindleaf, and Bev’s mom light candles and let them spark up towards the night sky. They are followed by Moonshine and Hardwon, who only light one candle to leave more for the younger halflings. Soon the whole sky is filled with floating candles, brightening the sky and announcing to the world their love. He settles into Erlin’s warmth. Craning his neck, Bev presses a kiss to Erlin’s lips, giddily, like a kid.

His husband laughs, putting his hand under Bev’s chin and kissing him back. _Chocolate and oranges._ They snuggle together under the night sky, surrounded by family and friends, absorbed in their love.


End file.
